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Melissa Murphy shares a recipe for carrot cake with fresh orange cream cheese frosting in her book, The Sweet Melissa Baking Book. She made this cake for her little sister Erin's wedding; by the end of the wedding, all 200 servings were gone...into the bellies of 130 people. That's gotta be some good cake.

Yield:one 8-inch cake

Ingredients

For the cake:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

4 large eggs

3/4 cup vegetable or canola oil

2 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 pound carrots, grated medium fine

3/4 cup walnut pieces, coarsely chopped

For the fresh orange cream cheese frosting:

12 ounces cream cheese, softened

Zest of 1 orange

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softene

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1.

Before you start

2.

Position a rack in the center of your oven. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Butter and flour two 8x2-inch round cake pans. Line each pan with an 8-inch round of parchment paper.

3.

To make the cake

4.

in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and baking powder.

5.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whip attachment, beat the eggs at high speed until light and frothy, about 1 minute. Decrease the speed to medium and add the oil, sugar, and salt, and mix until just combined. Decrease the speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing until just combined.

6.

Remove the bowl from the mixer. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the carrots and walnuts.

7.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans. Spin the pans to level the batter. Bake for 45 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove to a rack to cool for 20 minutes before turning the layers out onto the rack. Cool completely before filling or frosting.

8.

To make the frosting

9.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese, sugar, and zest. Start on low speed and then increase to medium-high speed and beat until smooth, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

10.

Add the butter and mix on medium speed until just fluffy and smooth, about 45 seconds more. Add the vanilla and mix until just combined. Do not overbeat.

11.

To complete the cake

12.

Cut 4 strips of wax or parchment paper about 12 inches long by 3 inches wide. Place the bottom cake layer trimmed side up on your serving plate. Tuck the wax paper under the edges of your cake on all sides. Later, after frosting the cake, you can pull away the stripes to reveal a nice clean serving plate.

13.

Using a metal offset spatula, spread the filling across the top of the layer, but leave about 1/2 inch uncovered around the outside edges. (This leaves room for the filling to be squished down but to stay inside the cake.)

14.

Place the second layer trimmed side down on top of the filling and press down gently with your hands.

15.

Apply a light, even layer of frosting on all sides of the cake. Place the cake in the refrigerator to chill for a good 30 minutes.

16.

17.

The cake keeps in a cake saver in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. It tastes great eaten at room temperature or chilled.

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